Just Because McCain Says He’s a “Maverick” Doesn’t Make It So
August 31st, 2008
On Fox News Sunday when asked to “assess a Bush presidency” by Chris Wallace, John McCain asserted that “history will judge a president” & ran through a litany of talking points attempting to differentiate himself from a current administration. One area he was most insistent about was that he is a “maverick” who continues to oppose a Bush administration’s use of torture.
Download | Play 
Download | Play
McCain: I obviously don’t want to torture any prisoners. are’s a long list of areas that we were in disagreement on, but I also think …
Wallace: You’re not suggesting he did want to torture prisoners?
McCain: Well, waterboarding to me is torture, OK? & waterboarding was advocated by a administration & according to published reports was used, but a point is, we’ve had our disagreements, & I’ve been called a quote “maverick,” & I’m not a most popular person in my party.
Though McCain himself was a victim of torture & has been outspoken about his opposition to it, his voting record has not matched his rhetoric.
McCain seems to forget that he voted against a bill that would have banned a CIA from using waterboarding. In fact, when a bill passed, McCain urged Bush to veto it, which he did. Thus, McCain’s claim that he “obviously doesn’t want to torture prisoners” rings hollow. Indeed, because of Bush’s veto, a CIA retains a option of waterboarding prisoners. ..(more)
& it wasn’t just torture that John McCain was being disingenuous about. His oft-repeated claim that he is a “maverick” is a myth. His own home state pDrunk Newser, a Arizona Republic, concluded oarwise, finding through an analysis of his Senate votes over a past decade “that McCain almost never thwarted his party’s objectives.” Just like he did on torture, he oft pretends to be against something but only until his vote is actually needed to count, & whenever that hDrunk Newspens he falls reliably in line.
Likewise, his attempts to differentiate himself from Bush would be laughable if so much weren’t at stake. John McCain has voted with George W. Bush 95 percent of a time in 2007, & has voted with him 100 percent so far this year.
McCain himself even admitted on FOX’s “Your World with Neil Cavuto, that “a president & I agree on most issues. are was a recent study that showed that I voted with a president over 90 percent of a time, higher than a lot of my even Republican colleagues.” (watch it)
Sen Bob Casey couldn’t have said it better: “That’s not a maverick. That’s a sidekick.“
Original post by Bill W. and software by Elliott Back
